I monetary advisory

Picture: AFP WSJ: How has your view on the economy changed since the beginning of the year? MR. BOSTIC: So I don’t think it’s changed all that much. I guess what I would say is that our expectation was the economy was going to perform at a fairly solid pace, continuing sort of what had happened before. The stimulus, through the tax overhaul, and the fiscal spending put a little extra juice in that. The fiscal spending—a little more direct in terms of its impact and more obvious, clear as to what is going to happen. With the tax overhaul, there’s still a lot that remains to be written. So we estimated that the fiscal spending would increase (gross domestic product) by about a third of percentage point. And the tax—we have it penciled in at about the same, but there’s a lot of uncertainty because the people we talk to in terms of particularly smaller businesses still haven’t figured out what their optimal strategy should be, given all … [Read more...] about WSJ Interview With Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic

As the gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine deepens, Kiev is reportedly planning to seize the Ukrainian assets of Russian gas monopoly Gazprom in the former Soviet republic. Moreover, Ukrainian diplomatic missions were reportedly instructed to locate the assets of Gazprom as Kiev embarked in a global search of the Russian company’s foreign assets. “I think that neither from legal nor practical perspective the seizure of Gazprom’s assets – apart from inside Ukraine – is realistic whereas Ukraine/Naftogaz (Ukraine’s national oil and gas company) is damaging itself with such rhetoric,” Katja Yafimava, a senior research fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, told New Europe on March 23. As a result of the judgment handed down in separate cases brought before the Stockholm Arbitration Court, Gazprom owes Ukraine $2.6 billion, Chris Weafer, a partner at Macro-Advisory, a Moscow-based consultancy, told New Europe on March 23, … [Read more...] about Threatening to seize Gazprom’s assets, Ukraine raises the stakes for EU gas

Angolans voted in a parliamentary election on Wednesday expected to usher in the ruling party’s defence minister as the first new leader of Africa’s second-biggest oil producer for 38 years. Joao Lourenco, who has pledged to boost growth and fight corruption, would inherit an economy mired in recession as gaping inequality, soaring inflation and high unemployment squeeze poor Angolans who have benefited little from a decades-long oil boom. The People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), which has ruled Angola since independence from Portugal in 1975, is expected to remain in power but with a reduced majority. Its support has waned due to widespread political cronyism, though many Angolans remain loyal to the party that emerged victorious from 27 years of civil war in 2002. “I’ve been following the MPLA all my life. I grew up with it,” 33-year-old bakery owner Telma Francisco said outside a polling station in the capital. “The other … [Read more...] about Angola votes as MPLA changes man at the top

Despite a stratospheric rise in value over the past year, the price of bitcoin could fall to $1,000 (£719, €816) per coin over the next 12 months, a major Wall Street investment chief has warned. The complex and volatile crypto market is unpredictable, and crackdowns from government regulatory authorities around the world led to a crash in value across the board – with the bitcoin price tumbling from an all-time high of over $19,000 in December 2017 to under $10,000. While it levelled out at roughly $11,000 per coin, where it currently remains, Bleakley Advisory Group's chief investment officer, Peter Boockvar, has said that the storm may not be over just yet. "I think bitcoin is going to be around for a long time but the price itself I wouldn't be surprised if over the next year it is down to $1,000 - $3,000," he told CNBC in a recent interview. Boockvar is the latest mainstream financial expert to weigh in on the debate about whether bitcoin is in a bubble and on the … [Read more...] about Is bitcoin doomed? Price may soon crash to $1,000, Wall Street veteran warns

Govt aims to park over Rs150b legacy loans, non-core assets in anothe­r compan­y 0SHARES Share Tweet Email PIA was on the active list of privatisation that Pakistan agreed to implement under the three-year International Monetary Fund programme but the government backed off after opposition parties refused to support the move. PHOTO: FILE ISLAMABAD: Amid questions over the modus operandi, the federal government announced on Monday to carve out the core functions of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) – the air transport business – within three months to make the national flag carrier attractive for privatisation. The move is aimed at parking over Rs150 billion in legacy loans and non-core assets of PIA in a company and selling the core business to private parties. But the biggest opposition to the government’s plan is the time frame, as it has only five months before completion of the five-year constitutional term. Privatisation Minister … [Read more...] about PIA’s core functions to be carved out as govt looks to sell stake